The amino acid phenylalanine (Phe) is a critical metabolic node that plays an essential role in the interconnection between primary and secondary metabolism in plants. Phe is used as a protein building block but it is also as a precursor for numerous plant compounds that are crucial for plant reproduction, growth, development and defense against different types of stresses. The metabolism of Phe plays a central role in the channeling of carbon from photosynthesis to the biosynthesis of phenylpropanoids. The study of this metabolic pathway is particularly relevant in trees, which divert large amounts of carbon into the biosynthesis of Phe-derived compounds, particularly lignin, an important constituent of wood. The trunks of trees are metabolic sinks that consume a considerable percentage of carbon and energy from photosynthesis, and carbon is finally immobilized in wood. This paper reviews recent advances in the biosynthesis and metabolic utilization of Phe in conifer trees. Two alternative routes have been identified: the ancient phenylpyruvate pathway that is present in microorganisms, and the arogenate pathway that possibly evolved later during plant evolution. Additionally, an efficient nitrogen recycling mechanism is required to maintain sustained growth during xylem formation. The relevance of phenylalanine metabolic pathways in wood formation, the biotic interactions and ultraviolet protection is discussed. The genetic manipulation and transcriptional regulation of the pathways are also outlined.

Ca²⁺ signaling is an early and necessary event in plant immunity. The tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) kinase Pto triggers localized programmed cell death (PCD) upon recognition of Pseudomonas syringae effectors AvrPto or AvrPtoB. In a virus-induced gene silencing screen in Nicotiana benthamiana, we independently identified two components of a Ca²⁺-signaling system, Cbl10 (for calcineurin B-like protein) and Cipk6 (for calcineurin B-like interacting protein kinase), as their silencing inhibited Pto/AvrPto-elicited PCD. N. benthamiana Cbl10 and Cipk6 are also required for PCD triggered by other plant resistance genes and virus, oomycete, and nematode effectors and for host susceptibility to two P. syringae pathogens. Tomato Cipk6 interacts with Cbl10 and its in vitro kinase activity is enhanced in the presence of Cbl10 and Ca²⁺, suggesting that tomato Cbl10 and Cipk6 constitute a Ca²⁺-regulated signaling module. Overexpression of tomato Cipk6 in N. benthamiana leaves causes accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which requires the respiratory burst homolog RbohB. Tomato Cbl10 and Cipk6 interact with RbohB at the plasma membrane. Finally, Cbl10 and Cipk6 contribute to ROS generated during effector-triggered immunity in the interaction of P. syringae pv tomato DC3000 and N. benthamiana. We identify a role for the Cbl/Cipk signaling module in PCD, establishing a mechanistic link between Ca²⁺ and ROS signaling in plant immunity.

Conifers are the most important group of gymnosperms, which include tree species of great ecological and economic importance that dominate large ecosystems and play an essential role in global carbon fixation. Nitrogen (N) economy has a special importance in these woody plants that are able to cope with seasonal periods of growth and development over a large number of years. As N availability in the forest soil is extremely low, efficient mechanisms are required for the assimilation, storage, mobilization, and recycling of inorganic and organic forms of N. The cyclic interconversion of arginine and the amides glutamine and asparagine plays a central role in the N metabolism of conifers and the regulation of these pathways is of major relevance to the N economy of the plant. In this paper, details of recent progress in our understanding of the metabolism of arginine and the other major amino acids glutamine, glutamate, aspartate, and asparagine in pine, a conifer model tree, are presented and discussed.

In the chloroplasts and in non-green plastids of plants, aspartate is the precursor for the biosynthesis of different amino acids and derived metabolites that play distinct and important roles in plant growth, reproduction, development or defence. Aspartate biosynthesis is mediated by the enzyme aspartate aminotransferase (EC 2.6.1.1), which catalyses the reversible transamination between glutamate and oxaloacetate to generate aspartate and 2-oxoglutarate. Plastids contain two aspartate aminotransferases: a eukaryotic-type and a prokaryotic-type bifunctional enzyme displaying aspartate and prephenate aminotransferase activities. A general overview of the biochemistry, regulation, functional significance, and phylogenetic origin of both enzymes is presented. The roles of these plastidic aminotransferases in the biosynthesis of essential amino acids are discussed.

Summary: In Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris), ammonium assimilation is catalysed by glutamine synthetase (GS) [EC 6.3.1.2], which is encoded by two genes, PsGS1a and PsGS1b. PsGS1b is expressed in the vascular tissue throughout the plant body, where it is believed to play a role in recycling ammonium released by various facets of metabolism. The mechanisms that may underpin the transcriptional regulation of PsGS1b were explored. The PsGS1b promoter contains a region that is enriched in previously characterized cis‐acting elements, known as AC elements. Pine nuclear proteins bound these AC element‐rich regions in a tissue‐specific manner. As previous experiments had shown that R2R3‐MYB transcription factors could interact with AC elements, the capacity of the AC elements in the PsGS1b promoter to interact with MYB proteins was examined. Two MYB proteins from loblolly pine (Pinus taeda), PtMYB1 and PtMYB4, bound to the PsGS1b promoter were able to activate transcription from this promoter in yeast, arabidopsis and pine cells. Immunolocalization experiments revealed that the two MYB proteins were most abundant in cells previously shown to accumulate PsGS1b transcripts. Immunoprecipitation analysis and supershift electrophoretic mobility shift assays implicated these same two proteins in the formation of complexes between pine nuclear extracts and the PsGS1b promoter. Given that these MYB proteins were previously shown to have the capacity to activate gene expression related to lignin biosynthesis, we hypothesize that they may function to co‐regulate lignification, a process that places significant demands on nitrogen recycling, and GS, the major enzyme involved in the nitrogen recycling pathway.

Nitrogen (N) is frequently a limiting factor for tree growth and development. Because N availability is extremely low in forest soils, trees have evolved mechanisms to acquire and transport this essential nutrient along with biotic interactions to guarantee its strict economy. Here we review recent advances in the molecular basis of tree N nutrition. The molecular characteristics, regulation, and biological significance of membrane proteins involved in the uptake and transport of N are addressed. The regulation of N uptake and transport in mycorrhized roots and transcriptome-wide studies of N nutrition are also outlined. Finally, several areas of future research are suggested.